Congratulations, you have reached The South Lake Tahoe Real Estate website where “You Can Search Like a Realtor”and find the home, condo, cabin, or vacant land that you are looking for. If you just have a question, or need advice or consulting, our knowledgeable realtors are available seven days a week to help you. Feel free to contact Paradise Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe. We can answer common questions regarding bank owned properties vs. foreclosures, or how to buy a foreclosure, and explain what and how a short sale works and if a short sale is right for you. Our team Paradise will help you with easy to follow steps on buying a foreclosed home. We also have a blog about the Lake Tahoe real estate market that is updated weekly and includes statistics for new listings and recent sales.

Please explore our web site and use our search tool to find Lake Tahoe foreclosures (bank owned) and short sale homes. You can search all active MLS listings for real estate in Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada. You can also sign up for our Get California Listings Via Email, and our Get Nevada Listings Via Email, so when a new listing is posted on the MLS in your favorite neighborhood, at the price range you selected, you’re immediately notified. This is a very powerful tool that will help you stay on top and ahead of the current market.

This weekly report is created by Dan Spano, broker of Paradise Real Estate located in the Stateline area of South Lake Tahoe, CA. This information is focusing strictly on the South Lake Tahoe, CA. side of Lake Tahoe.

As of today, September 3, 2010 @ 3:00 pm:

Current active single family residential and condo listings for all of South Lake Tahoe, CA; 486. 74 of these active listings are bank-owned or short sales.

Homes sold from August 1, 2010 to August 31, 2010 are: 54. Of the 54 homes sold, 26 or 48% , are foreclosure (bank owned or short sales). During the same time period last year 45 homes sold, of which 15 were foreclosures. Total homes sold year to date is 360, of which 180 or 50% are foreclosures. Total homes sold for the same time period last year were 271, of which 103 or 38% were foreclosures.

There are a lot of great opportunities for buyers for both bank owned/short sales, as well as sellers that are competitive with the bank owned and short sale properties.

If you would like to search for current homes for sale please use this easy search tool for South Lake Tahoe, CA and NV real estate. There is also an option to get instant email notifications of brand new listings as they get posted by real estate agents in the South Lake Tahoe area.

Foreclosure rescue fraud is sweeping the country and can end up costing you the home you are desperately trying to save from foreclosure.

Some of the fastest growing frauds sweeping the nation are foreclosure rescue scams. These scams involve thieves who steal people’s homes and equity after promising to help save their homes from foreclosure.

Public notices of foreclosure proceedings usually trigger mail, phone and even door-to-door solicitations.

You should steer clear of any company that initiates such contact, demands a fee before providing services, or advises cutting contact with the mortgage company, which can delay legitimate options for preventing foreclosure proceedings.

Foreclosure rescue scams usually fall into one of four categories:

1. Phantom Help

In this scam, the supposed rescuer charges very high fees for basic phone calls and paperwork that you can easily do yourself without any assistance. Or, the rescuer will make promises to represent you, but will not follow through. This is really a “too little too late” scam as in the helpless homeowner receives too little (or no) help that is too late to stop the foreclosure from taking place.

2. Bailout

Here the scammer claims to assist you by promising you can stay in the house as a renter and buy the house back once things have been “fixed” if you transfer the title of the house to the scammer. The way the scammers get the house varies, but each method ends with you not being able to buy the house back and the supposed rescuers get most, if not all, of the equity.

3. Bait and Switch

The bait and switch with foreclosure scams involves signing away the ownership of your home. The scammers will tell you that they are signing the documents for a new loan that will solve your problems. In reality, you may be  signing forged documents that will give the crooks ownership of your home. To make matters worse, you will still be liable for the mortgage even though you no longer own the home.

4. Bankruptcy Foreclosure

The scammer may promise to negotiate with your mortgage company or to get refinancing on your behalf if you pay a fee up front. Instead of contacting your mortgage company or refinancing your loan, the scammer instead pockets the fee and files a bankruptcy case in your name, and sometimes without your knowledge. A bankruptcy filing often stops a home foreclosure, but only temporarily. The bankruptcy process is also complicated, expensive and unforgiving. For example, if you fail to attend your first meeting with the creditors, the bankruptcy judge will dismiss the case and the foreclosure will continue. If this happens, you could lose the money you paid to the scammer and still lose your home on top of it. To make matters worse, a bankruptcy stays on your credit report for ten years and can make it very difficult to get a job, get life insurance, buy a car, rent an apartment or buy a home.

Red Flags – If you’re looking for someone to help prevent a foreclosure, be sure to avoid any businesses that…

• Guarantees to stop the foreclosure process, no matter what your circumstances.
• Tells you not to contact your mortgage company, lawyer or credit or housing counselor.
• Collects a fee before providing you with any services.
• Accepts payment only by cashier’s check or wire transfer.
• Encourages you to lease your home so you can buy it back over time.
• Tells you to make your mortgage payments directly to them instead of your mortgage company.
• Tells you to transfer your property deed or title to them.
• Offers to buy your house for cash at a fixed price that is not set by the housing market.
• Offers to fill out paperwork for you.
• Pressures you to sign paperwork you have not had a chance to read or that you do not understand.

This information was compiled by the University of San Francisco, School of law.

Half of 2010 Sales Are Foreclosures and Short Sales

South Lake Tahoe, CA – Real estate in Lake Tahoe is coveted for the pristine location and year round recreation. The recession has created an excellent opportunity to own Lake Tahoe real estate at bargain prices. The median selling price for a single-family home in South Lake Tahoe is now $326,500. That is 33 percent lower than the market peak of $489,000 in April of 2006. Many Lake Tahoe homes for sale are foreclosures and short sales listed at or below 2003 prices.

Tahoe real estate exploded from 1999 to 2005. The demand was insatiable and homes were doubling in value every 3 to 4 years. In 2006, unit sales dropped by 35 percent and the median price leveled out. The price of Lake Tahoe houses reached a bottom of $317,250 in February of 2010. The median sales price has improved each month since. “This is a unique opportunity for buyers of Lake Tahoe property,” states Paradise Real Estate President and CEO Dan Spano. “The current market gives every advantage to the buyer. There is a good supply of homes with motivated sellers, mortgage interest rates are at an all-time low and home prices are greatly reduced.”

Buyer activity is also increasing. The number of Lake Tahoe sales through August 20, 2010 is 335 compared to 250 in 2009. That is a 34 percent increase and exactly half of the South Lake real estate sales this year have been bank owned or short sale listings.

Spano recently sold the Paradise Timeshare Resale division of his business to focus all of his attention on South Lake Tahoe real estate. “Paradise Real Estate specializes in Lake Tahoe foreclosures and short sales. Our team approach is very beneficial for our clients. Instead of dealing with one agent exclusively, clients profit from the combined knowledge of five experienced real estate professionals. Many realtors prefer not to handle short sales due to the difficult negotiations with many parties. At Paradise, we welcome the challenge and are proficient with short sale transactions.”

Until 2007, homeowners who lost their homes in foreclosure or modified their loans were often shocked to learn that they  owed taxes on the home they had lost. In 2007, the federal government passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 which generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for this relief.

This provision applies to debt forgiven in 2007,2008, or 2009. Up to $2 million of forgiven debt is eligible for this exclusion ($1 million if married filing separately). The exclusion does not apply if the discharge is due to services performed for the mortgage company or any other reason not directly related to a decline in the homes value or the taxpayer’s financial condition.

Keep in mind that the Debt Forgiveness Act of 2007 pertains to federal income taxes only. The State of California has a mortgage debt forgiveness program too, but it differs from the federal law.  Please consult a tax professional for advice on federal or state law.

If you are having difficulty resolving a tax problem (such as one involving an IRS bill, letter or notice) through normal IRS channels, the Taxpayer Advocate Service may be able to help. For more information, you can also call the TAS toll-free case intake line at 1-877-777-4778, TTY/TDD 1-800-829-4059.

In some cases, you may qualify for free or low-cost assistance from a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC). LITC’s are independent organizations that represent low income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS. Find information on a LITC in your area at http://www.irs.gov/advocate/content/0,,id=151026,00.html

This weekly report is created by Dan Spano, broker of Paradise Real Estate located in the Stateline area of South Lake Tahoe, CA. This information is focusing strictly on the South Lake Tahoe, CA. side of Lake Tahoe.

As of today, August 20, 2010 @ 4:00 pm:

Current active single family residential and condo listings for all of South Lake Tahoe, CA; 501. 82 of these active listings are bank-owned or short sales.

Homes sold from August 1, 2010 to August 20, 2010 are: 31. Of the 31 homes sold, 14 or 45% , are foreclosure (bank owned or short sales). During the same time period last year 29 homes sold, of which 7 were foreclosures. Total homes sold year to date is 335, of which 168 or 50% are foreclosures. Total homes sold for the same time period last year were 250, of which 94 or 37% were foreclosures.

There are a lot of great opportunities for buyers for both bank owned/short sales, as well as sellers that are competitive with the bank owned and short sale properties.

If you would like to search for current homes for sale please use this easy search tool for South Lake Tahoe, CA and NV real estate. There is also an option to get instant email notifications of brand new listings as they get posted by real estate agents in the South Lake Tahoe area.